David Norris (Independent)

I am moved by the sensitive approach taken by Senator Kett in his excellent contribution. I always find non-confrontational debates of this kind very useful because they provide the Seanad with an opportunity to play a positive role and it is good the House discusses these matters. I was reminded the other evening that it was only 25 or 30 years ago that women Senators, for instance, the then Senators Mary Robinson and Gemma Hussey, tried to raise issues such as violence against women, contraception, the law on criminal conversation, which allowed a cuckolded husband to sue his wife's sexual partner for the value of her sexual services which had been distrained from him. These and other issues, including rape within marriage, were first raised in the House by a series of courageous, forward-looking women who were roundly trounced from all sides for having the temerity so to do.

At roughly the same time, organisations such as Women's Aid became involved in the issue. I salute the presence of a number of distinguished representatives of these organisations in the Visitors Gallery. I recall doing a James Joyce one-man show to raise money for the women's refuge in Rathmines around ten or 15 years ago. This was one of the first concrete examples of a building being constructed to house women who had been victims of violence.

I was interested to read in one of the briefing documents I received about the immense impact of Roddy Doyle's television series, "The Family", shown on RTE in 1994. This general artistic theatrical presentation resulted in an immediate and enormous increase in the numbers of calls received by organisations working in this area. I salute Roddy Doyle, an author sometimes dismissed rather too easily, not only for the programme but also for an immensely moving book, The Woman who Walked into Doors. The interesting title tells it all. That was immensely moving because it looked at the syndrome, mentioned by Senator Kett, of women who wait until the 35th attack and justify it, make excuses and pretend it did not happen or their injuries were the result of an accident.

We last looked at this issue in January 2004 and it is important that we continue to monitor it. I am glad to see that there have been a number of advances since we last debated it and I compliment the Department on this. Civil legal aid has been given increased resources. Waiting times have been reduced to four months. This is not ideal. A situation where one feels one's welfare is in danger is a critical and urgent one. Even though it may be an improvement, a waiting time of four months is simply too long. There is no doubt that in the case of domestic violence, in particular, justice delayed is justice denied.

The in camera rule has been amended and women now can be accompanied to court by a third party in support of them. One aspect I appreciate very much about the work of Women's Aid, in particular, is that it engages in one-to-one interaction. In these circumstances that sort of humane approach is important.

However, the situation is not entirely rosy, as the Minister of State knows because he has responded to it during the week and also in a glancing reference today. There is further support needed from central resources because of the frequency with which the telephone service, for example, is used. The freefone helpline is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 10 o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night. In 2004, 19,901 calls were made to the service, an increase of 5% on the previous year. Women's Aid responded to 12,147 calls. That leaves some 7,700 missed calls because Women's Aid did not have sufficient resources of personnel, offices, machines, etc. Those 7,700 missed calls are the ones which should worry all of us because there should not be any missed calls.

If people are in situations where they are being subjected to violence, they are desperate if their calls are missed. It is our responsibility to support those agencies to make sure they are not missed. There were 30% more missed calls last year. The Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, who has done good work in this area indicated, according to newspapers, that he also was concerned about this and that he understood from Women's Aid that a sum of €70,000 might resolve the situation. That is a tiny amount of money. If that would mean that next year 7,000 calls were taken rather than missed and 7,000 people in misery were given some support, that would be the best spent €70,000 imaginable. I hope this comes about, although I noted that the Minister of State in his speech spoke of the need to increase the amount. We must salute and acknowledge the fact that, historically, it has been increased. This is an issue which should be looked at.

There is also the question of the origin and nature of the calls. It is worrying that so many of the cases of violence are generated domestically. We can tell this from the figures. Another aspect of Women's Aid I like is that it does not collect statistics because it is interested in the human dimension. When the telephone call is made Women's Aid wants to support that other human being and the gathering of statistics is only incidental. It would be inappropriate in a cold-hearted way to ask a caller's age, marital status, etc. People want support and they get it. Women's Aid is quite good at getting statistics of various kinds, however, not just the number of calls received but a profile of the perpetrators of the abuse, which needs to be addressed.

It is shameful that over half of the abuse disclosed was perpetrated by the current partner of the woman. Marriage remains the most common context for domestic violence among the calls to the service, with 38% of women disclosing it was their husband. That is a chilling statistic. While there are many decent husbands and many good families, it means we must look with a critical eye at the reality within so many families. A further 13% of these acts were perpetrated by either a male partner or a male co-habitee. We all know of situations — often we see them on television and read about them — where not just a husband or a partner, but occasionally a male who has had the relationship terminated will not allow a woman say, "I am sorry, we made a mistake. I am bringing this relationship to an end.". She may then be met with murder because she is not considered to be allowed this freedom. That is very worrying.

We also need to look at broadening the range of services because so many of the calls come from Dublin and it is a Dublin centred organisation. We should ensure that this service is spread throughout the country as far as possible. I take it the Minister of State has received Women's Aid briefing documents containing all the points on the budget and changes in legislation which it requires to be made.

It is regrettable that groups like Amnesty International, which have taken this matter on board seriously, and Women's Aid should be attacked regularly by certain columnists in principal national newspapers.